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01/29/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Lakers will finish a two-day tour of the Midwest on Sunday aiming for their 16th consecutive win over the much-improved Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Wolves haven't beaten LA since March 6, 2007 but this is a much different Minnesota team and for that matter a much more pedestrian Lakers club.
With a win tonight the Timberwolves would be at .500 after 20 games for the first time since it was 22-22 on Jan. 30, 2007. Meanwhile, LA is a very uncharacteristic 1-7 away from SoCal this season after falling, 100-89, to a Bucks team without Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson in Milwaukee on Saturday.
Kobe Bryant had 27 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in that one to lead the Lakers while Pau Gasol chipped in 12 points and 15 rebounds. Andrew Goudelock scored 13 off the bench and Andrew Bynum added 15 points and nine rebounds for LA.
"I can only speak about tonight (but) Milwaukee was a much more physical team defensively," said Bryant. "They made it uncomfortable."
LA's road record is currently the worst in the Western Conference with a very difficult stretch looming. After tonight's contest the Lakers will make a short stop home to face off with Charlotte before kicking off a six-game trek in Denver.
In its most recent affair, Minnesota topped San Antonio at Target Center, 87-79, behind Kevin Love's 18 points and 16 rebounds, his 18th double-double of the season.
The Timberwolves scored the final 10 points of the game in that one to beat the Spurs for the second time in a row. Minnesota also topped San Antonio on Jan. 2 at home, snapping a 16-game losing streak in that series.
Rookie point guard Ricky Rubio scored 18 points with 10 assists while Nikola Pekovic had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
"We want to just continue to get better," Love said, looking forward to the chance to reach .500 this weekend, "and especially in the fourth quarter when it's close."
Love called Rubio, who entered the NBA with an already sparkling reputation as a playmaker, a "great" player. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich didn't need to be told that, calling the 6-foot-4 Spaniard a "heck of a passer" with a good ability to read situations on the court.
"He's like a football quarterback," Popovich said.
<< Mavs and Spurs renew rivalry in Dallas
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Longtime Lone Star State rivals meet with first place in
the Southwest Division on the line as the Mavericks welcome San Antonio
to Big D.
Dallas, the reigning NBA champs, and the Spurs, the defending division champs,
bot
<< Nets and Raptors clash at The Rock
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlantic Division rivals meet in North Jersey Sunday when
the Nets welcome Toronto to The Rock.
New Jersey has been on an uptick recently, winning three of their past four
games. Deron Williams recorded a double-double wit
<< Reeling Magic welcome Pacers to Central Florida
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Eastern Conference playoff contenders meet in
Central Florida on Sunday when a struggling Orlando team plays host to the
Indiana Pacers in the Magic Kingdom.
Orlando has dropped three of four and is coming off a
<< Pierce, Celtics open home-and-home set with Cavs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce and the banged-up Boston Celtics aim to climb
above the .500 mark when they welcome Cleveland to TD Garden for the front end
of a home-and-home set.
With starters Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Jermaine O'Neal out
Tar Heels put lengthy home win streak on line vs. Yellow Jackets >>
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels
will try to make it 31 in a row at home tonight when they host the Georgia
Tech Yellow Jackets in an Atlantic Coast Conference battle at the Smith
Center.
This w
Wolverines visit Buckeyes in Big Ten showdown >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 20th-ranked Michigan Wolverines head to
the Value City Arena today to take on the fourth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes
with the first place position in the Big Ten Conference standings at stake.
This will be
Irish to try their luck in Big East brawl with Huskies >>
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Notre Dame Fighting Irish conclude their
two-game road trip with a visit to the XL Center to square off with the 24th-
ranked Connecticut Huskies.
This will be the 27th meeting in the all-time series betwe
Clippers and Nuggets square off in Denver >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Western Conference contenders meet in the Rockies
Sunday when the Denver Nuggets entertain the Los Angeles Clippers at Pepsi
Center.
The surprising Nuggets sport the second best record in the West and come into
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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